Industry Demands Drop In Utility Tariffs By January End

Among the numerous reliefs promised Ghanaians by government for this year is the reduction of power tariffs.

The decision follows various complaints by Ghanaians over the high cost of power resulting in the high cost of doing business.

The news of a reduction in power tariffs came as a positive one especially to many industries who have constantly lamented the impact of high utility bills on their operations.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, announced the proposed reduction during the presentation of the 2018 budget to law makers in November 2017.

According to him, electricity tariffs will be reduced by an average of 13 percent for industrial users.

But almost three months after the announcement, some key businesses tell Citi Business News they are yet to be engaged on the matter.

One of such is the Food and Beverage Manufacturers Association whose members stand to benefit hugely from the move.

General Secretary of the Association, Samuel Aggrey is however hopeful of a completion by the end of this month.

“Normally you need one month to see the reflection in your tariff. If it is not so then it means that nothing has been done because once it was announced in November then we want to see the urgency with which government would want to implement because so far government has not engaged the industry on this issue” he stated.

But commenting on the extent to what extent will the tariff reduction impact the operations of businesses hence labour subsequently?

General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) Solomon Kotei explains the extent to which the tariff reduction will impact the operations of businesses, hence labour subsequently.

“We are also looking forward that the issue of utilities will actually come down because where they are now it is not making it user friendly. I am expecting that by January if all goes on well I should begin to pay something between 10 percent lower or 15 percent lower depending on my job” , he explained.